First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[Red Nugget]

This is were Midnight has decided to roost lately. I moved the supplies out and took down the cords. Now she has her own bed.

 

[drumstick diva]

So cute, your cornish x is checking out the nest - I'm sure the idea of laying is no where in their genes but, she'll figure it out. It makes me feel good just thinking about it.

There has to be more to life than eating and frying pans.

 

[Red Nugget]

So cute, your cornish x is checking out the nest - I'm sure the idea of laying is no where in their genes  but, she'll figure it out.  It makes me feel good just thinking about it.

There has to be more to life than eating and frying pans.

They are defiantly happy chickens. After telling my family about Bert and Pearl my family has changed their mind about culling next month. We've decided to see if we can get them to breeding age. I told them not all will make it but we are excited about their future. No frying pans for now.

 

[mountain mom]

It has been crazy hot here too! Poor birds are panting all day.

Red Nugget- Good for you!! Raising your own stock of meaties is part of the dream, IMHO!
Pearl started laying in the dead of winter! Strange. She was around 4 months. You will know when they get ready because they will squat when you put your hand over their back.
She laid our 2nd biggest eggs. XL size. Dixie (our Dixie Rainbow) laid the largest eggs. They didn't even fit in an XL carton.

JR- I think your CX will be fine with everyone for a while. You may notice as they get bigger and start laying at the feeder all day, you will want to separate them and restrict their feed.
You have an exciting week coming up!

Ralph- Hooray for all your jumbo CX you will get to have!!
I am pushing the process date as far as I possibly can on ours. I want jumbos. They are probably at 6-7 lb process weight now, but I would love for them to be 10 pounders!
We are leaving town on the 18th, and likely I will be processing them that week. I have a billion other things I will need to do that week, but I have the procrastination gene too.

Sadly, I will not be keeping a roo this round. With leaving town, I don't think it is a good time to introduce one. Next spring, I will be getting my CX along with Rainbows. I plan to keep one CX roo, 2 or 3 Rainbow hens. I know my husband will be thrilled.
I really want to have my own Toad farm!

In fox hunting news... the whole family has avoided the traps.
I was furious. My husband devised a plan.
He got so dang excited to make pepper spray grenades. He and the kids mixed cayenne and vinegar, put them in soda bottles and created baking soda "charges" to time release and create an explosion. They threw them in the den. They sat and waited with .22's.
Either they were too scared to come out or they were already out, but there was not any shooting. Well, at least not with the .22. My son did unload a whole canister of paintballs into the den for good measure.
We haven't seen them either. I think we may have scared them off.
I really hope they are gone for good. And that they didn't just move in further down the road.

 

[mountain mom]

Ooh, one more thing.
Do y'all think an owl could pick off 2 month old turkeys?

The BBB is huge and I am not worried about it at all. But my 2 heritage are certainly smaller. And they all like to sleep outside. I have to pick them up and put them in the coop every. single. night.

Ralph, thoughts?

 

[JRNash]

Ive raised orphaned owls and rehabilitated injured adults. While they are capable of taking rabbits ect. They normally stick to smaller prey.If your poults are in the bantam range they could be in danger,if they are in grown chicken range not so much. I once tried free ranging courtnix quail. A mother hawk fed her three chicks 50 qauil in a weeks time. They nest on my property. Ive had an owl hanging around the house for a week now. My brown Chinese are as big as he is so safe.

 

[drumstick diva]

I bet the mother hawk didn't even tip you.

 

[JRNash]

It normally boils down to the TYPE of raptor,and wether their normal food supply is present. Owls WILL take advantage of the the mice that feeding poultry attract. Hope this helps.

 

[JRNash]

Drumstick,she successfully raised 3 chicks that year. I was happy to help.

 

[JRNash]

It was really something to see. Red shoulder hawks are fair sized birds. It specifically targeted the quail who were in and around chickens from chicks to adults. It never even looked at the chickens. When it got the last quail,it looked confused. Just sitting there waiting for more to appear. This same hawk would als drink from the chickens water when it could get past the roosters